Nonchalant

adjective

Comfortable and disinterested in demeanor
Having no strong preference

Usage

Nonchalant is the perfect blend of being completely at peace and totally void of interest in something. More than simply feeling at ease, to be nonchalant is to experience a calm that only comes from having absolutely no care, concern, or preference for a thing or situation.

The adjective nonchalant can be attributed to either a person (e.g. nonchalant as he waved) or an action (e.g. he gave a nonchalant wave), in either case denoting an utter lack of investment or apprehensiveness for whatever consequences may ensue. When someone is or does something so apathetically as to be noncommittal, they're not merely nonchalant, but nonchalant towards their own nonchalant attitude.

It should be noted that while "non" is a common prefix to root English words, it does not function that way here since (as the Origin section below will clarify), "chalant" is not a word in the English lexicon, and so one should generally avoid using it, unless it is used in a casual setting or meant for comic effect - i.e. use "chalant" only if the listener is fully aware that you know it is not a valid word.

Example: My friend is so nonchalant about dining out that I've long since stopped asking where she wants to eat.

Example: Having long since lost interest in school, Theo would only answer his teachers with a nonchalant shrug.

Origin

The English use of the word nonchalant, which began in the early 1700s, derives directly from the French word "nonchaloir" (simply "non" added to "chaloir"), which means "not being concerned." The French word comes from the Latin root "calere," meaning "to be warm." In a sense, this is analogous to the idea of not "being warm" to an idea or thing.

Derivative Words

Nonchalance: This noun form of nonchalant is employed to describe an individual's attitude while doing something, rather than the quality of the task the individual is doing.

Example: Even when drawing the biggest crowds of his career, the movie star acknowledged his fans with his smooth, characteristic nonchalance.

Nonchalantly: As an adverb, nonchalantly is used in conjunction with actions rather than with people. Nonchalantly characterizes the frame of mind of the one carrying out the action by identifying the manner of its execution. It also often implies a fleeting, or perhaps playful, show of indifference, rather than a perpetual attitude of ambivalence.

Example: Exhausted from a long day of watching unoriginal acts, the talent show judges nonchalantly waved the next contestant onto the stage.

Similar Words

Blasé: Another term borrowed from French, blasé shares the same sense of apathy as nonchalant, but is used specifically to describe an exhaustion with something that is dully repetitive. Blasé is possibly the only word that conveys a lesser degree of caring than nonchalant.

In Literature

From C.S. Lewis's That Hideous Strength (Space Trilogy, #3):

He wanted to be perfectly safe and yet also very nonchalant and daring-to be admired for manly honesty among the Dimbles and yet also for realism and knowingness at Belbury-to have two more large whiskies and also to think everything out very clearly and collectedly.

Here, Lewis catches his character in quite the predicament: how to appear accomplished without seeming as though he's trying to. The individual is very anxious to stay out of danger, but at the same time wishes to project the image of being so unconcerned, or nonchalant, with the risks that come with adventure that he boldly seeks them out.

In Pop Culture

From season 10 episode 1 of Friends

Oh, my God, that's Ross! What are we gonna do? Okay, just be calm.
For all he knows, we're just hanging out.
All right? So just be nonchalant. That's not nonchalant!
No idea what it means.

In this scene, Rachel is worried that her ex-boyfriend, Ross, might be hurt to find out she has suddenly started seeing his friend Joey. When he arrives at her hotel room, where she is with Joey, she is alarmed until she realizes that Ross has no prior grounds upon which to suspect anything unless, of course, they give it away by acting uncomfortably around him. So, Rachel instructs Joey to be nonchalant, that is, to act casually and indifferently enough so as not to arouse suspicion. In a display of classic Joey, though, he has no idea what that means, and is too imperceptive to infer her meaning from the context. Hopefully now you know when to act nonchalant!

Mnemonic

Nonchalant says "nah, chill on."
Something that is nonchalant shows no strong want.